I have always liked vintage treasures and instant film and film cameras are one of them. A camera that prints the pictures you take right away. Imagine, taking a picture with your instant camera and see it print right before your eyes. Precious, isn't it? Holding that piece of memory in your hands, just ignites your feels every time. At least, that's how I feel every time I get to use my Instax camera.
There's just something with instant film cameras that you'll never seem to get with high mega pixel digital cameras. I have been playing with my Instax for almost a year now and I still can't find why I love taking pictures with it, besides the fact that I don't own a good digital camera. Maybe because only a few have them? Only a few enjoy them? I don't really know. But what I know is that I enjoy taking pictures with them.
1. You will never know how your photo will turn out.
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Photo from depoisquecrescemos. |
Film cameras and Instant cameras doesn't have any photo preview. What you take is what you get. There are no photo previews before printing them, they'll be printed the way you have taken them
2. Instant film and film cameras are cheap....er.
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Photo from DesignBoom. |
Don't bother worrying about the money, they're very affordable- though the films maybe a lot more expensive than the camera itself. I had a thought of collecting them once, but I have other things I want to buy. Maybe you could collect them.
3. Your photos are more precious.
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Photo from EricKimPhotography. |
Having the fact that there is only one original copy of that photo that you took at right at that very special moment makes the memory a thousand times more precious than anything else in the world. Every time I take pictures with my instant film camera, I always feel that I am holding another priceless memory.
4. The instant printing right there and then makes taking photos even more satisfying.
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Photo from ClassicBride. |
The smell and feeling of a freshly printed film is indeed, a very happy thing. You don't have to process anything, just take a photo and cry after it is printed. Yes, that's how you should roll with your film cameras.
5. Instantly printed pictures have a unique value than a digital one.
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Photo from TheHindu. |
6. You can't delete the photos you have just taken.
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Photo from depoisquecrescemos |
7. Megapixels don't matter.
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Photo from depoisquecrescemos. |
8. You don't have to hesitate about the angles and the focus.
It's that decision of take it or leave it. A hit-or-miss game. But nonetheless, angles don't matter. Focuses don't mater. All that matters is the memory you've captured.
9. Mistakes turn to beautiful memories.
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Photo from GlimpseJournal. |
There are no mistakes on instant films neither wasted films. There's no perfect picture on film cameras. Remember, the photos you take are a memory of the past. If you happen to take a picture of your friend doing something weird or if he/she looks weird on that picture, save it. That's a valuable piece right there.
10. There's only one original print of that very moment in that photo.
Your camera can only produce one copy of that very moment, of the very second you took that picture. Nobody, not unless you give it to them, can have another copy of that picture. Not two of a instant film is the same. They may look the same, but if you look closely, there's a big difference between the two.
I have been enjoying this luxury of having my pictures printed right away for quite some time now. Shooting with them is fun and thrilling as you will never know how it will turn out. Every time that I look at my pictures, I reminisce every detail I know about that very moment we took that picture. Precious. Pictures.